Daily COVID-19 cases for WA reach all-time high Tuesday. Hospitalizations increase
The Washington state Department of Health reported an all-time daily high of 2,589 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 along with 23 deaths on Tuesday. The previous record case high was reported Sunday.
Pierce County reported 258 cases Tuesday and one new death. Pierce County has a total of 213 deaths likely caused by COVID-19 as of Tuesday, according to the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.
Statewide totals from the illness caused by the coronavirus are at 134,121 cases and 2,571 deaths, up from 131,532 cases and 2,548 deaths Monday. Washington’s population is estimated at about 7.6 million, according to U.S. Census figures from July 2019.
Hospitalizations of confirmed COVID-19 patients continue to climb with 64 people being admitted to Washington state hospitals on Oct. 29, the most recent date with complete data. Average daily hospitalizations peaked in early April at 78.
On Nov. 6, the most recent date with complete data, 21,858 specimens were collected statewide, with 8.3% testing positive. The average positive test rate for the seven days prior was 7%. More than 2.8 million tests have been conducted in Washington.
The test numbers reflect only polymerase chain reaction tests, which are administered while the virus is presumably still active in the body.
King County continues to have the highest numbers in Washington, with 35,669 cases and 845 deaths. Pierce County is second, with 13,461 cases, according to the state’s tally. That number differs from the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department’s tally due to lags in reporting data. Yakima County has the second highest number of deaths at 289.
All counties in Washington have cases. Six counties have case counts of fewer than 100.
For the past seven days, Washington had a case rate of 24.6 per 100,000 people. The national rate for the same period is 47.5 per 100,000, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. North Dakota has the highest rate in the United States, at 180.9 Hawaii is the lowest, at 5.8.
There have been more than 11.3 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 248,424 deaths from the virus in the United States as of Tuesday afternoon, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States has the highest number of reported cases and deaths of any nation.
More than 1.3 million people have died from the disease worldwide. Global cases exceed 55 million.
This story was originally published November 17, 2020 at 4:07 PM.
